Route through the Khumbu Icefall (on the right) in the two past years and that of 2014 (left)

Has the memory of the Everest tragedy in 2014 faded so quickly? According to the Kathmandu-based newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the “Icefall Doctors” have relocated the route through the Khumbu Icefall for the upcoming season to the left side of the ice labyrinth, just below the ice-loaded West Shoulder. On 18 April 2014, an ice avalanche had swept down from there and killed 16 Nepalese climbers. In spring 2015 (this season also ended prematurely due to the devastating earthquake in Nepal) and in 2016 too, the Sherpas, who were responsible for securing and maintaining the route through the Icefall, had chosen a variant on the right side.

Is there a right way?

In the Khumbu Icefall

After the accident in 2014, a heated debate raged on whether the “Icefall Doctors” were to blame for the tragedy. “They have prepared the piste at the weakest point, where the difficulties are lowest, but the dangers are greatest. This is not clever,” said Reinhold Messner at that time. Others, however, pointed out that the increasing ice flow would hardly allow an ascent through the center, as it had been practiced in the past. And that on the other side of the Icefall, avalanches were threatening from the flanks of the 7861-meter-high Nuptse.

Climate change increases the risk

It is absolutely certain that the Khumbu Icefall is insecure. The passage just above Everest Base Camp has always been the one with the highest objective dangers. And the advancing climate change increases the risk of collapsing seracs or avalanches sweeping down from the West Shoulder and the slopes of Nuptse. The likelihood of another tragedy rises with the number of mountaineers climbing through the Icefall at the same time. It’s like black ice on the highway: the more traffic, the more dead. This spring, about 500 summit aspirants are expected on the Nepali south side of the mountain.

Txikon with a ladder on his back

At the moment Alex Txikon may feel on Mount Everest a bit like Edmund Hillary. Like the first ascender from New Zealand and his companions in 1953, the Basque must play an active part in finding a way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall above Base Camp and in carrying material needed to secure the route. For example aluminium ladders to cross the deep crevasses in the Icefall. With a weight of about five kilograms, such a ladder is not too heavy but bloody bulky while climbing through the ice. Real back-breaking work, as the video shows which the 35-year-old sent today from Everest Base Camp:

As reported, Alex, along with his Spanish countryman Carlos Rubio, wants to scale Mount Everest in winter, for the first time since 1993 – without bottled oxygen. The two climbers and nine Sherpas first have to make their way through the dangerous Icefall. Txikon has estimated this work for up to four weeks.

Pretty exclusive experience

As in Hillary’s days, the Spanish expedition is currently the only one on the highest mountain on earth. What a contrast to spring, when year after year several hundred mountaineers from dozens of commercial expeditions turn the Base Camp into a small tent town!

Dangerous Khumbu Icefall

When the clients arrive there at an altitude of 5,300 meters in April, usually the so-called “Icefall Doctors” have already prepared and secured the way through the Icefall. This team of eight Sherpas also ensures that the route remains accessible throughout the climbing season until its end early June. The highly specialized Sherpas are selected and paid by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), an organization that originally only cared about the environmental protection in the National Park around Mount Everest. Since 2000, the SPCC has also been responsible for the route through the Khumbu Icefall on behalf of the Government of Nepal. In spring 2014, 16 Nepalese climbers were killed in an avalanche in the Icefall.

Even if it turns out that Alex Txikon is not able to reach the summit at 8,850 meters this winter – his experience of working as a non-Sherpa as Icefall Doctor is pretty exclusive.

Dangerous Khumbu Icefall

The upcoming spring season on Everest casts its shadows before. Ten “Icefall doctors” were sent to the Base Camp on the Nepalese side of the highest mountain on earth to prepare the route for the commercial expeditions. In the past two years, there had been no summit successes from the south (I deliberately ignore the “success” of Chinese climber Wang Jing and her Sherpa-Team in 2014 who had been flown to Camp 2 by helicopter). In 2014, the spring season had prematurely ended after an ice avalanche in Khumbu Icefall had killed 16 Nepalese climbers. In 2015, the 25 April earthquake had triggered a huge avalanche from Pumori that had hit Everest Base Camp and killed 19 people.

On Monday, the Nepalese cabinet – at last! – gave green light for the extension of the 2015 climbing permits by two years. “It is a welcome move from the government that we hope will help bring back the climbers to the mountains”, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. But it might be too late for many of the about 800 climbers who got a 2015 permit, including 357 Everest aspirants, to return already this spring.

I asked Mingma Gyalje Sherpa about the upcoming season. The 29-year-old, who has already climbed seven eight-thousanders and recently made headlines by solo climbing the difficult West Face of 6685-meter-high Chobutse for the first time, is head of the Kathmandu based expedition and trekking operator Dreamers Destination.

Mingma, the spring season is around the corner. What do you expect, especially on Mount Everest?

I think, there will be as many teams as before but the size of the teams will be smaller. I am happy that Everest will be less crowded this year. It’s going to be safer and there will be more fun for climbers this year. It is good that there will be less traffic jams at the Hillary Step, on the Lhotse face and in the Khumbu Icefall.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

Your company “Dreamers Destination” has an expedition from the Nepalese side of Everest on offer that will be led by you. Did you notice a lower demand due to the incidents in 2014 and 2015?

Obviously, 2014 and 2015 incidents have some impact on Everest but those were by nature. I don’t think it affected that much. We had a good number of clients in autumn and had good business. We have good numbers of climbers for Everest and Lhotse in spring too.

The blockade (in the border region to Nepal) became a more powerful reason to lower tourist demand for Nepal. Most of my foreign friends are worried just because of the blockade which continued over 5 months. They don’t want to waste their money and time visiting Nepal in such a situation. However, the blockade is over and situation here is getting better, so we can expect good numbers of tourists in the autumn season but not already in spring.

How is the mood within the Sherpa community? Depressed, optimistic, somewhere in between?

Due to the incidents in 2014 and 2015, few Sherpa climbers stopped their profession because of pressure they got by their families. But more are hopeful to receive good numbers of tourists and to work for them.

South side of Mount Everest

As so often, there have been uncertainties due to the hesitancy of the Nepalese Government. The final decision on the prolongation of the 2015 permits has come late, but the proposed new climbing rules on Everest are still missing. Does the Government’s slowness cause problems for you as an expedition operator?

Yes, it definitely does. We are just a couple of weeks before the start of spring season, and until yesterday there was no final decision about permit extension. Now it is there. It’s a good decision in favor of climbers and survival of tourism business in Nepal. Regarding new climbing rules, we don’t expect them in the near future.

Some western operators have decided to withdraw from Everest arguing that local operators in Nepal offer dumping prices they cannot compete with. What do you think about this?

It is true that competition with Nepalese operators is not easy in terms of price. There are only few notable Nepalese companies which provide better service than western operators, but there are more Nepalese companies which just focus on cheaper price and cheaper service, just to attract more and more tourists. And these companies lead to more accidents. They won’t have a long lasting future. But I feel, western companies are more reliable and responsible in terms of providing service and promises. They work for their goodwill and future.

Everest Base Camp

The competition is not only with western companies but it’s among Nepalese operators too. I guess we are among those who provide good service and we try not to let down our clients’ expectation. Even for us, it is very difficult to compete with other cheaper operators. Like the old proverb “where there is a will there is a way”, cheap operators get clients fit for them, we get clients fit for us and western companies get clients fit for them. What I feel is that more climbers trust western operators than Nepalese operators, but again in the end price matters. But there are more and more tourists who think of their safety rather than the price.

These western operators also accuse Nepalese competitors to engage local staff from poor areas in Nepal paying them only poor wages. What truth is there to it?

It’s fifty-fifty. Yes, there are many companies which provide poor wages but it depends more on the staff and their qualification. I have friends who are UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations) certified guides. They charge 15,000 US Dollar for Everest expeditions, which is much more in comparison with western guides. In the meantime, there are local guides who charge 85,000 Nepali Rupees (around 800 USD).

So it depends on the clients: The more they pay to Nepalese or western operators, the more likely they will get good and experienced Sherpa. The less they pay, the more likely they will get unprofessional staff and that will put them into trouble.

About two months ago, you told me that 2016 would decide the future of mountain tourism in Nepal. How do you feel about this today?

2016 is a very difficult year for Nepal. For sure, there will be very less tourists in Nepal this spring season. I am more hopeful for autumn season. If autumn season will also bring less numbers of tourists, then there won’t be a good future in tourism business in Nepal for many years.

South side of Everest

It has gone out of style to climb Mount Everest in fall. This happened even though some of the most spectacular summit successes on the highest mountain in the world have been made in the post-monsoon period: Remember only the first ascent through the Everest Southwest Face by the British Doug Scott and Dougal Haston in September 1975 or the success of the US-American Carlos Buhler, Kim Momb and Lou Reichardt via the East Face in October 1983. However, the climbing season has moved more and more into spring since commercial expeditions have taken over on Everest – due to higher temperatures compared to fall and to the usually lower risk of avalanches. Since 2000, only 36 summit successes have been recorded in September or October – next to nothing compared with over 5,000 ascents in spring since the turn of the millennium. The last ascent to the top of Everest in fall dates from five years ago: In October 2010, the American Eric Larsen and five Sherpas reached the highest point at 8,850 meters. This fall, there will be another attempt to climb Everest from the Nepalese south side. According to the “Himalayan Times” the so-called “Icefall Doctors” – a group of high specialized Sherpas – arrived at Base Camp in order to fix a route through the Khumbu Icefall.

Kuriki’s comeback

Kuriki after his Everest attempt in fall 2012

The Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki and Masaru Kadotani want to scale Everest in fall, the newspaper reports referring to Tika Ram Gurung, head of the Nepalese expedition operator Bochi-Bochi Trek. In fall 2010, Kuriki had tried to climb Everest solo without bottled oxygen via the rarely used West Ridge. The then 30-year-old said that he had to turn back at about 8,000 meters because of a storm. On his descent, Kuriki sent an emergency call. Sherpas climbed up to him, and the Japanese was flown by rescue helicopter from Camp 2 at 6,400 meters to a hospital in Kathmandu. Kuriki suffered severe frostbite. Nine fingers had to be amputated; only stumps were left. Nevertheless, the Japanese did not want to bury his dream of adventures on eight-thousanders.

In July 2014, Nobukazu claimed to have scaled Broad Peak in Pakistan without breathing mask (look at his summit video below). Actually, Kuriki planned to tackle Mount Everest from the Tibetan north side this fall. But the Chinese authorities put a spoke in his wheel by announcing that they will not give any expedition permit for Tibet before spring 2016.

South Korean Lhotse Expedition

The Icefall Doctors will prepare the route not only for the Japanese. According to Gyanendra Shrestra from the Tourism Ministry, a South Korean team wants to climb Lhotse in fall. Twice in a row, spring season on Mount Everest has been stopped prematurely: In 2014 after the avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall that killed 16 Nepalese climbers, this year after the devastating earthquake in Nepal. The tremors triggered an avalanche, at least 18 people died in Base Camp.